Tibor Gašpar (source: Jozef Jakubčo, Sme)
Former police corps president Tibor Gašpar lied when he tried to explain the screening of murdered journalist Ján Kuciak. Kuciak was screened for a few months before he was killed, with Gašpar explaining that he was among other journalists screened in another case concerning MP's assistant Filip Rybanič who revealed information from the account of then-interior minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer), thus violating bank secrecy regulations.
The Denník N daily has found that 28 journalists were screened in this case, but Kuciak was not among them.
“I know from [Pavol] Vorobjov that the screening of the journalist Kuciak should have been conducted by Vorobjov based on the request of the investigator of the National Unit of the Financial Police led by Mr [Bernard] Slobodník in the Rybanič case, where more than 20 journalists were screened,” Gašpar told the conspiracy website Hlavné Správy in an exclusive interview.
Information about relatives
Kuciak was screened in September 2017, about five months before his murder. The screening was conducted by Vorobjov, who at the time led the Intelligence Unit of the Financial Police. Vorobjov stated that it was Gašpar who had ordered him to do so.
Among the screened journalists were Marek Vagovič, Zuzana Petková, Adam Valček, Michal Kovačič and Monika Tódová, as well as media presenters who read the news about the case in broadcasts.
Those screening them obtained information about the journalists’ relatives, such as parents, spouses and children, including photos, according to Denník N.
Kuciak also wrote about the Rybanič case, thus it is not clear why he was not screened as well. Investigators then agreed that the results of the screening were not important for further investigation, Denník N wrote.
The inspectorate of the Interior Ministry is currently scrutinising Kuciak’s screening.
